Weigh-In Wednesday #15

sometimes there is no way to predict how a weigh-in will go. last week i did haphazard ww and was expecting to be up, and i was down -0.6. this week i tracked and exercised, and only had a loss of -0.4. oh well.

i’m happy with the loss, since it means i am down -1 pound between last week and this week. i have two weigh-ins to go, and am confident that i can lose another pound by the end of the month — and meet my weight loss action plan goal of losing 2 pounds a month.

i did have a personal goal of being at 150 pounds this saturday for my staff weigh-in, but it’s ok that i didn’t get there, i got close! since i started back on ww in late may, i’ve averaged a loss of about 3 pounds a month, which is super motivating!

things have definitely been more normal. i’ve gotten back to tracking, went to yoga, riding my bike, meal planning, weighing/measuring food.

i’ve also had a few challenges. this weekend i was out for a friend’s birthday. i skipped the appie, had a salad for my main, but did indulge in 3 glasses of wine and some dessert. there’s a photo of the dessert platter we ordered below — macaroons, creme brulee, cotton candy, red velvet cake, deep fried oreos! the good thing, since we were sharing, we all had a taste of everything!

things are getting back to normal — there are no more summer events, weddings etc. but the holidays are starting up, and i already noticed halloween candy in the stores, aackk!

it’s also sad that the summer fruits are done. looks like the winter orange, banana, and pineapple trifecta are back in the rotation.

weigh-in wednesday details:

original starting weight: 166 pounds
wednesday weigh-in: 153.6 pounds
difference since last weigh-in: -0.4 pounds
total lost: -12.4 pounds

                               yummy dessert platter!

Weigh-In Wednesday #14

 

i can’t believe it’s been a few weeks since my last update. my weight watchering has definitely been haphazard — minimal meal planning, lots of dining out/fast food, hardly any activity. i am pretty grateful to come out of this weigh-in with a loss.

i never consciously decided to waver, it just sort of happened. we didn’t go grocery shopping on the weekend, so there was no cooking, so we ate out, so i didn’t exercise in the evenings. it was definitely the domino effect! the weather was also pretty rainy and chilly, so the motivation to go outside and bike wasn’t there. nor did i want to walk to yoga in the rain — as romantic as that may sound, it makes for a cold and damp class, brrrr!!

to meet my weight-management action plan goal for september, i need to lose -1.4 pounds by the end of the month. so that’s my focus right now. get back on track and lose a half a pound a week over the next 3 weigh-ins; sept 16, sept 23, and sept 30.

we’re going grocery shopping tonight, and i’ll plan out my snacks and meals friday night and saturday afternoon, instead of waiting til sunday evening. i’m hoping that doing it on friday evening will keep me more focused over the weekend.

i have a mini-date with mike for a cocktail and some appies after work friday. and then a friend’s birthday party on saturday night, so i’ll definitely be having a few more cocktails! to get some activity points, i’ll be biking the 34km to my weight watcher meeting saturday morning, and going to a yoga class in the afternoon. now that the winter rains are starting, i definitely need to find some indoor activities for those extra cold and rainy days.

weigh-in wednesday details:

original starting weight: 166 pounds
wednesday weigh-in: 154 pounds
difference since last weigh-in: -0.6 pounds
total lost: -12 pounds

haha! yikes! 

The Ride That Wasn’t

my big 50km bikeride was last sunday, and it was a bust.

i spent the week getting ready — took rupaul in for a tune-up, bought a 2nd bottle cage and 2 larger water bottles, picked up my race package, booked off work saturday so i could get prepped, went to a yoga class to stretch out, gave rupaul a sponge bath…it was a lot of little things to get ready.

sunday morning, i was up at 6:30am, got dressed, had breakfast, slathered on the sunscreen, mixed up an electrolyte drink for the ride, got everything together and went downstairs to load up the car. that’s when it all went sideways. by taking off the bike’s front wheel and flipping down the car seats i thought rupaul would fit in the trunk. but it was the space between the trunk and rear seat that gave me problems. her rear wheel was too wide to fit through the space, and the handlebars were too high. we tried a few different ways, but in the end, the bike didn’t fit in the car, and there would be no ride for me.

i had never put the bike in the car before, and didn’t foresee any problems. i was really upset with myself, because if i had tried earlier and known, i could have made alternate arrangements — asked a friend for a ride, borrowed a bike rack, booked a carshare vehicle with a bikerack.

we tried for half an hour to fit the bike, before i had to admit defeat. i cried in the parking garage, i cried when we got back up to the apartment, and i cried about an hour later when i was still kicking myself.

i really believed i could bike the 50km. i wanted to test myself, and feel that sense of accomplishment and pride at the finish line. i wanted to hold my head high and say i had done it. and i didn’t even get the chance to try.

if i had done the race, i would have earned 32 activity points. i was planning to eat them all in celebration! so, even though i didn’t do the ride, that evening, we went out for fancy italian pizza and a bottle of wine.

my goal is to bike the 50km on my own this sunday. i’ll build my own route, and challenge myself, and at the end of the day, i can say that yes, i can complete a 50km bikeride. but it will be a little bittersweet.

ready for my first 50km ride!

My Weight Loss Planner / Journal

occasionally i like to watch weight loss youtube videos. it’s really inspiring to see folks change their lives, and it’s educational to see how they are going about it.

in one of the videos i watched, someone was using a school planner to track various aspects of their weight loss, and i totally loved the idea! i also discovered there is a whole world of folks that love love love planners — so after watching a few of those videos, i ordered my own plum paper planner, and some stickers from etsy.

for the planner, i got to choose the cover design, and got it personalized with my name. i also had the option of selecting the “classes” i wanted listed, but i chose to leave that area blank, that way i can write in what i want to track, and have the option to change it up.

i also ordered some stickers to jazz up the planner. i ordered some practical stickers so i could identify weigh-in and activities — weigh scales, bicycles, and some weights/barbells. then i also ordered some motivational stickers, with quotes, goals etc.

full disclosure — i paid more for all the stickers, washi tape, gel pens etc, than i did for the planner!

i’ve been organizing the planner on sundays, i fill in what i want to track for the week, and make it a little pretty 🙂 i fill in what my goals will be, i plan in some activity, and the rest i track at the end of the day/next morning.

there are month-at-a-glance calendar pages, as well as blank pages at month start and end, so i comment on what i hope to accomplish, how i want to go about it — and then reflect back on what worked, what the challenges were etc.

it is a big commitment to track daily — i admit some days/weeks are a little sparse. but i have noticed the weeks i am more diligent, i tend to have a good weight loss, go figure!

i ordered a 6-month planner, july to december, to see if i liked the idea of planning. it’s a good place to see my week at once, but i still need to tweak some of my tracking categories to be more useful. having it for 6 months also allows me to plan mini-goals, and prepare for upcoming challenges.

i definitely don’t think i am using this tool to it’s full potential — but luckily, i still have another 4 months to figure it out!

pretty planner!

fun stickers!

Weigh-In Wednesday #13

meh. today’s weigh-in was definitely disappointing. i had a bad week last week, but this week i was doing all the good things. i wasn’t expecting a big loss, but i definitely wasn’t expecting to be up.

today’s meeting topic totally felt made for this situation, “a slip, not a slide” — i’m looking at this weigh-in as a slip, i’ll get back on track, and as taylor swift suggests, i’ll shake it off, shake it off!

i needed a reminder today that this really is a journey. by having a weight-loss goal of 2 pounds per month, it is achievable and livable. i need to lose -0.6 pounds next week to meet my weight management action plan goal for the month of august. and i can totally do that. it’s easy to put extra expectations on myself, but i should focus on the big picture — i am making positive changes, and am consistently meeting my goals. sure i would love to lose more than 2 pounds per month, but i chose a weight-loss goal that i knew i could reach to ensure my success. i don’t want to get frustrated, think negative, or give up!

and at 2 pounds per month, it means that by Dec 31, 2015, i will weigh in at 146 pounds! that’s a super exciting prospect! if i stick to the plan, and keep going, i’ll get there. consistency is definitely the key.

the fitness is going well. i went on a 36km bike ride sunday in preparation for my 50km ride this coming sunday! unfortunately, i never did do a 40km or 45km practice ride, so i’m not sure what to expect at 50km. there are 2 giant hills, and i’ve already decided that i’m going to walk these if i need to. and in terms of expectations — my goal is just to finish 🙂 i’m anticipating that it will take me 3hrs, cycling at about 18km/h.

and since i’ve activated my yoga pass, i’ve been going pretty regular, usually 2ce a week. once winter hits, and the rain starts, i’ll probably increase the amount of yoga and decrease the amount of cycling.

and, since summer is coming to a close — my vision board will need an update. i need to start thinking about what i want to change-up/refresh for the fall/winter. and next week, when i hit that -0.6 pound loss, i’ll be able to cross out another 4 pound achievement on my vision board!

weigh-in wednesday details:

original starting weight: 166 pounds
wednesday weigh-in: 154.6 pounds
difference since last weigh-in: +0.4 pounds
total lost: -11.4 pounds

                  

Weigh-In Wednesday #12

it’s been a couple of weeks since i last posted, and this weigh in is actually from august 5th, 2015. and i didn’t go to my meeting/weigh-in the following week, on august 12th, 2015. sigh.

i had a few distractions recently; wedding festivities, my niece’s birthday, some upsetting news at home. everything happened in the same week, and it was easy to focus my energy elsewhere, and not bother with ww.

i was ok at the wedding events. i definitely ate butter chicken and naan, and had the deep fried pakoras everytime! but i did notice my portions were smaller now than they would have been a few months ago. and i offered to drive, so mike could drink — that saved me some extra points as well. and i danced bhangra pretty much non-stop, lots of activity points there!

the best part though, my sister gifted me a new indian outfit back in april. the pants were tight at the time, i could stand, but no way could i sit down. but i wore it to the wedding, and it fit great (with spanx!). it was a really great feeling 🙂

my niece’s birthday party was at a bowling alley. i had pizza and cake, but drank water not soda. but, i also opted out of bowling, and instead sat around and just socialized. no activity points for me!

mike and i have also been going out a lot more. mike’s come to meet me for a few lunches at work; sushi, indonesian, foodcourt — definitely nothing healthy. and since he’s been home, he’s also doing most of the meal planning and cooking; some healthy dinners, but others, not so much.

it feels like dominoes — once i go off track for one thing, everything else starts to go as well. the meal planning/food was off the rails…so then i stopped weekly planning in my journal, didn’t track my points, no yoga classes, and no long bikerides.

i made a promise to myself a few days ago, no matter what, i am going to weigh-in this wednesday! so, since then, i’ve been better with everything — more aware of my meals/portions, did a 36km bikeride yesterday, started weekly planning in my journal, am tracking my points. it’s funny how a bad week or two can feel almost like starting over again! but it’s definitely easier to get back on track, since i have the last couple of months to use as a guide.

weigh-in wednesday details:

original starting weight: 166 pounds
wednesday weigh-in: 154.2 pounds
difference since last weigh-in: -0.2 pounds
total lost: -11.8 pounds

wedding fun!

Weigh-In Wednesday #11

 

it was another amazing weigh-in this week. i was down -1.8 pounds. i’ve officially lost 10 pounds, and i feel great!

i’ve been doing a lot of good things — tracking, exercise, meal planning etc. but i’ve also had cheesecake, bbq, and a 1/2 bottle of wine the past week. on monday, i ate 41 points, well above my daily 26. i honestly don’t understand how come my weight loss has been so high, but as the receptionist at the weigh-in said to me this morning, “ours is not to question why!”

i’m hoping this trend continues, it’s really motivating me to keep going. normally, on wednesdays after weigh-in, i consider it my cheat day. usually i buy a “fun” lunch, and have an extra-tasty dinner with some wine and/or dessert. today, i added 1pp creamer to my coffee, and i brought a piece of 8pp cheesecake to have after lunch — everything else is normal. fruit and yoghurt for breakfast, an 8pp lunch of chicken and salad, hummus and veggies for snack. i’ll go over my points for today, but it will likely only be by a 5 or 6, and not double! it’s the success that’s making me want to stay on track and keep seeing results.

since i was dramatically over my points on monday, last night i decided to go for a 20km bike ride to try and make up for it. i earned 6 activity points, and was pretty proud of myself for doing a mid-week ride. i also finally activated my yoga pass, and i’m going to my first yoga class tonight. and i’m still biking to work every day. i take the slightly longer way so i can take the scenic route. i am really blessed to have such a picturesque ride to start and end my workday. i took a snapshot on my way in this morning, i’ve posted the photo below.

i have the 50km bike ride in a few weeks, but i still haven’t cycled that distance in a single ride, i’m starting to get pretty nervous! i need to do at least one long ride this weekend, i am aiming for 40km on sunday.

in my quest to stay engaged and encouraged — eg. my vision board, wearing a fitbit, keeping this blog etc — i also just started keeping a planner where i can track my daily accomplishments, record my day in general, plan my activity, and set some goals. i’m finding the more tools i have, the more invested i am in my journey. it’s also a fine line to add them in slowly as needed, otherwise i feel overwhelmed! i take the time to get comfortable with my current motivational tool, let the novelty wear off a little, and then slowly add in something new. prior to the planner, it was creating/shopping for/viewing/editing my vision board that was keeping me on track. now that the vision board is pretty much done until the end of summer, it was a good time to get more in-depth and start keeping a daily log. i saw someone do it in a youtube video, and immediately, i was like “i need one of those!!” — i love making lists, coloured pens, and stickers!

it’s a 3-day weekend this week, in addition to relaxing, i’m hoping i’ll use the extra time to do positive activities — some extra fitness (bike and yoga), as well as meal prepping and planning for the week ahead. it’s another week where i’m hoping to just keep chugging along 🙂

weigh-in wednesday details:

original starting weight: 166 pounds
wednesday weigh-in: 154.4 pounds
difference since last weigh-in: -1.8 pounds
total lost: -11.6 pounds

the lovely view from my seawall bike ride to work

Weigh-In Wednesday #10

eeek! i’m almost there, almost down 10 pounds! weigh-in today was ahhh-mazing! i was down -1.8 pounds, and i’m down a total of -9.8 pounds! i don’t feel like i did anything different this week, so i’m not certain why the loss was more than normal, but i love it 🙂

i did a trip to maui with the ladies in february 2014. i weighed 155 pounds when we went. i remember, because i lost weight to go on that trip. after we got back, i slowly started to regain the weight. between feb 2014 and may 2015 i gained 11 pounds — about 0.75 of a pound a month, or almost 0.2 of a pound a week. the weight gain was so slow and incremental, that i really didn’t notice. overall, i would gain a little, i would lose a little. but there is a silver lining. i was talking about this with my ww leader, and she noticed it was because i hadn’t thrown in the towel. our discussion centred around the attitude we have when things aren’t going well. it’s easy to be motivated and positive while you’re losing weight, but when you’re gaining it, ugh. even though my weight was going up, i still drank my coffee with skim milk, and i still rode my bike to work every day. even though i picked up a lot of bad habits, i still kept some of the good habits. this resulted in some weight gain, but i didn’t regain all the weight i had lost over the years. the opposite is when you go “off plan” and you stop doing everything. you aren’t losing weight, so the attitude becomes “what’s the point?” and “why bother” — that’s the dangerous territory, where you can regain what you’ve lost, plus a little more. and it’s hard sometimes to turn those negative thoughts and feelings off.

i was quite frustrated with my ww journey earlier this year. i weighed in on jan 6, 2015 at 163.6 pounds,  i weighed in weekly for 4 months, and on apr 14, 2015 i weighed in at 165.8 pounds. i was trying to lose the weight, but it felt like i was spinning my tires. i would lose, gain, lose, gain, and it was getting tough to keep positive. looking back now, i know i was in a tenuous mental place — i needed something to happen, and i’m glad i was able to find some focus when i did. and i thank my earlier self, that even though there wasn’t any success, i stuck with it, and didn’t give up. it doesn’t matter how long it takes, or what my journey looks like, i can recognize that all these positive steps and changes i make, they are improving my quality of life 🙂

i was doing a lot of reflecting this week, and this was a point that really stuck with me personally. if only i could always be so insightful!

back to the present — the cycling is going fantastic. i added up my totals for the past month, and i biked 414.3km! i normally bike 200km a month, or 50km a week, my commute to work is 5km each way. it’s really amazing that i could double my distance. i did sign up for a 50km ride (not a race!) on sunday august 23rd. i need to do some training for sure, and go for a longer ride or two during the week. i’ve never biked that distance in one go before, so i am nervous about it.

my plan for this week is to keep on doing what i’m doing — tracking, meal planning, and activity. i’m eager to hit the 10-pound milestone next week!

 

weigh-in wednesday details:

original starting weight: 166 pounds
wednesday weigh-in: 156.2 pounds
difference since last weigh-in: -1.8 pounds
total lost: -9.8 pounds

the weight tracker to nowhere

Weigh-In Wednesday #9

 

it was a good weigh-in. i was down, but boy, did i ever struggle the last few days. my 9-year old niece spent the weekend at our place, and i realized i am my mom. i bought ice cream, cake, pizza pops, mini doughnuts etc — all so i could show my love through food! growing up, my mom took a lot of pride in cooking for her family, and i learned that habit. these days, my mom spoils her grandkids by feeding them junkfood whenever she can, and clearly, i’ve learned that too! i did send some of the leftover treats home with my niece on sunday night — but i definitely did indulge. then on monday, it was hard to get back on track. i was still craving sugary, cheesy, carb-loaded foods!

at the crack of dawn on saturday morning (5:30am), i weighed in while i was getting ready, and was 156.5 pounds! it was amazing, i haven’t seen a number that low in over a year. i realize that weigh-in is a little skewed, but it was still really exciting. i think seeing that number, subconsciously gave me permission to go off track, since i knew i was doing really well. “it’s ok harv, relax a little, you’ll still lose even if you eat these doughnuts! one doughnut won’t hurt.” — this is the voice i kept hearing, for all the junkfood. i’ve had a bowl of ice cream everyday since saturday. did you know a 1/2cup of breyer’s mint chocolate chip ice cream is 5 points plus, that’s a 1/5 of my points for the whole day! a 1/2c is a pretty small serving, i could easily eat double that, but didn’t, so that’s a silver lining. the ice cream is gone now, and i won’t be purchasing any more 🙂

the fitness was ok. i walked to work one day (5k), but had mike pick me up on the way home. that resulted in my bike totals being a little lower for the week. but i did bike a few extra kilometres on my way to ww on saturday. instead of the usual 34km bikeride, i squeezed in 40km. this saturday, my goal is to get to 45km.

i need to keep my motivation up. the last few weigh-ins have been mediocre; the last 3 have gone like this, up +0.2, down -0.6, down -0.6. i’d love to have a week with a bigger loss, like when i started. it’s leaving me feeling a little meh 😐

i’ve been watching youtube videos and saw a few folks using planners to organize and track their journey. so of course i ordered a planner and some weight loss/fitness related stickers to do the same! hopefully everything will arrive in the next week or two and will give me a single place to see all the hardwork and progress in one place.

having read over what i’ve written today, this post has a slightly negative tone to it. i am pleased with my progress to date. i’m down 8 pounds total, so tonight, i will cross out the 2nd 4-pound post-it on my vision board! i’ve also officially lost the 2 pounds required for my weight-management-action-plan for this month. i submit my weight next week, on july 22nd, but am down -2.4 pounds so far. everything is going exactly according to plan, even better! i think today i am being hard on myself, because i feel that i could have done better. instead, i am going to focus on these positives, and use it to keep me going on the week ahead. i’m doing great!

weigh-in wednesday details:

original starting weight: 166 pounds
wednesday weigh-in: 158 pounds
difference since last weigh-in: -0.6 pounds
total lost: -8.0 pounds

the munchkin having breakfast!

Smoothie and a Salad

i thought i’d share 2 items that show up at least a couple of times a week on our menu, a smoothie and a salad. i often make the smoothie after work during the week, or in the mornings on the weekend. the spinach salad, i make a big batch, and we’ll usually eat it for a few meals, it keeps pretty well in the fridge for a couple of days. and to freshen it up, just throw in a handful of fresh spinach leaves.

the first is a fruit smoothie. everyone has a smoothie recipe, and this is one i originally got from the dr oz detox, and modified a little. i like to have it as a post-work before-dinner snack. i’ve also had this smoothie before going out for dinner, so i’m kinda full and won’t go wild while we’re out. what’s great about this recipe is that if you’re doing the simply filling program, almost everything is a powerfood (leave out the almond butter), so no points. here’s what i put in the smoothie:

• frozen banana — whole small banana, or 1/2 a large banana — 0pp
• 1 cup frozen blueberries — 0pp
• 2/3c fat-free greek yoghurt — 2pp
• 1 cup spinach — 0pp
• 1 cup water — 0pp
• 1tbsp almond butter — 3pp
• 1/4 to 1/2 pouch of ww vanilla smoothie mix — 1pp

it’s 6pp, but you can definitely reduce the points — sometimes i leave out either the almond butter and/or the smoothie mix, and then it’s just 2pp. but they both really add a lot of flavour, so i like to leave them in unless i can’t afford the points. rarely i’ll add either a tablespoon of ground flax (1pp) or a teaspoon of hemp hearts (1pp). and sometimes i mess with the fruit depending on what i have in the freezer. but hands down, blueberry and banana is my favourite flavour combination. the recipe makes a lot, easily enough for 2 regular sized servings, or 1 giant serving. if my husband is in the mood, sometimes he’ll have some, but usually i drink the whole thing by my self 🙂

i don’t have a fancy juicer or anything, so i just whip this up in my regular blender — put the frozen fruits on the bottom, closest to the blade, and it’ll blend up quicker and no lumps.

the 2nd item (since there is no cooking, i hesitate to call it a recipe!) is a spinach salad. we were buying this salad at costco, but it’s much cheaper to prepare at home.

makes 4 large servings:

• 4 cups spinach — 0pp
• 1 cup grape tomatoes, cut in half — 0pp
• 1/4 cup finely diced onion — 0pp
• 4 hard boiled eggs, quartered — 8pp
• 4 tablespoons dressing — we like renee’s low fat poppyseed dressing, or try a bolthouse yoghurt dressing — 4pp
• 1/2 cup part-skim shredded mozzarella cheese — 4pp

the salad as prepared above is only 4pp per serving. sometimes i also add some pumpkin seeds and dried cranberries for more flavour, but they pretty much double the points. the original version of the salad also came with bacon, but i’ve never added that! i usually serve this salad as a side dish, along with steamed broccoli (0pp), and a lean protein. you can have a really filling lunch or dinner for under 10 points! and since this salad is pretty simple to put together, you can make it in under 10 minutes. i usually boil my eggs a dozen at a time, and they’ll keep in the fridge for up to a week.

if you give either of these a try, let me know what you think!

spinach for everyone!

lots of yummy goodness